Greater Merseyside Connexions Partnership

£4.5m social impact bond for vulnerable young people in Merseyside.

In partnership with our Corporate Finance team, Greater Merseyside Connexions Partnership (GMCP) - a leading social delivery organisation in Merseyside - successfully secured a £4.5m payment-by-results contract from the DWP Innovation Fund. Under the contract, the DWP only pay if pre-agreed educational, training and employment outcomes are met.

GMCP are now delivering the innovative three year programme (“New Horizons”) to 3,900 of the most disadvantaged young people in the Merseyside area. The programme will use a blend of interventions including one-to-one coaching aimed at improving mental resilience in individuals so that they can self-sustain their own progression into employment.

Unlike typical social service delivery, the cost of the programme was funded at risk by private sector social investors. Our Corporate Finance team acted as lead adviser on the deal, raising £1.5 million in the form of a Social Impact Bond from a syndicate of leading UK social investors.

Kieran Gordon, CEO of GMCP

“Triodos Bank and GMCP have worked hard to attract substantial private investment from a range of investors to enable us to respond to the rising unemployment amongst local young people. We are delighted to work with a range of investors who pledged their support to this programme.